Status Updates From Land of Oz

The Little House On the Kansas Prairie by Jonathan Maberry is a story taking place after Dorothy comes back from Oz. This story was a creepy fever dream horror. It reminded me a little of the expanded The Stand, when you think the danger is over it still lingers. I love what the story with the house falling on the Wicked Witch of the East. Even though we saw no blood it didn't mean the house wasn't stained with it. 4

The story fills in events from a different perspective that weren't needed. 3

The story fills in event

Al Jinjur's Last Stand by Una McCormack is a story about a group of girls in Oz that are convinced their neighbor is a witch. Two girls are dared to find out, and it leads to surprising results. This story was okay. I liked the message of being different is okay. The story was very girl power which I liked. I did not like the title at all. This is another story that went on too long.

Silver & Gold by Christina Henry is a reimaging of Dorothy, meet the Wizard and others in the real world before Oz. I was the most excited to read Christina Henry's story and she delivered. I love her reimaging and where her mind goes. There's so many little Easter eggs. The story went in ways that I did not expect. Good character work all around. 4.4

I ended up enjoying most of the story. 3.7

The Other Foot by Stark Holborn is a noir set in Oz that reminded me of Roger Rabbit, because the detective is a boot brought to life by the Power of Life. He investigates a murder with items missing. The story has fun with the premise but could have went farther. There's a good gumshoe lime in there and he likes a leg. The writing style took a bit to get into and it was hard to picture at first.

This is the saddest story that has a lot of metaphors about home. I liked the beginning and the writing. The story is full circle which I appreciated but took too long to make its point. 3.1

Heart's Desire by Robert Shearman is about an old widowed man dealing with his loss. He wants to restore her overgrown garden. He gets angry at a stone and removes it, but it wasn't an ordinary stone it was a yellow one. Soon Dorothy comes through having lost her way ask about a yellow pathway that the old man lies about. The story is about grief and loss. It was good but it goes on too long.

The Lost Princess of Zo by Delilah S. Dawson is a brutal horror tale of Dorothy trapped in the opposite land of Oz, a land called Zo. It is a land ruled by stuffed bears, that want you to look just like them. Dawson has a lot of fun with being cruel. This story is terrifying. It is the most memorable story so far. Even though this is a horror story, it one of the closer stories to the original Oz. 4.5

I wanted a more solid ending. I thought the story was trying to do a little too much for a short story, it was a good attempt.3.4

The Wizard of the Bookish Omnibus by Paul Magrs is about a bus library that an old retired man created. His readings of The Wizard of Oz from memory are fun since he keeps forgetting. The town already has a library and wants the bus gone. The story is told from a boy's POV that is having trouble at home. The story is kind of about the loss of magic, with reality coming in. I loved the old man.

The story is very humorous. It has a lot of fun with morality. A little lose in its connection to Oz but better than some. M.R.Careys writing really shines. I love the way he wrote the patchwork girl in rhyming poetry. 4.2

Final Report On the Rex Rembrandt Affair (by Scraps, the Patchworkof Oz) by M.R. Carey is about a master thief / con man meeting a frustrated magian from Oz. The magician is in London at a bar, he shows the man his magic powder, that can make inanimate objects alive. The thief swindles him and sets about making action figures into thieves. The story is crazy and about creation and God.

The Bluejay by Ian What's is the story of a bluejay making his way to Oz in the same cyclone that Dorothy did. The Bluejay gets to be the hero of the story and interacts with some of the characters in Oz. I thought the story was very clever. The dialogue could have been better, but a cute story overall. 4

It is a good story, but me as a reader was waiting for an Oz that does not show up. 3.7

It is a good

Heartless by Adrian Tchaikovsky is about AI robots and a system called Heartless. This story is a stretch to include in this Anthology. It does not involve Oz at all. Heartless robots and the Tin Man are the connection. The story is about developers that have to go to war since someone is changing their AI and helping the insurgents. The story is about morality that and who is the enemy.

The story had a lot of twists and turns. I thought the story had the heart of Oz where there is the surface level fantasy, but more under the surface about the miner being a slave. The only thing that I didn't like was the report at the beginning, I didn't feel it was necessary for the story. But it was very brief. 4.5

The Poor Work Man by Louise Carey is about a miner named Mr. Drill that has been changed like the Tin Man, with drill fingers and more machine than human. He works in hope that he can get back to his family. He meets some one from the world up above and it changes his life. This story was great my favorite so far. It was heartfelt, original, and fit well in the land of Oz.

The story used passages from The Wizard of Oz about the Tin man and his lost love. I like the first half of the story then lost it's footing. The end has a bit of surprising ending that I liked but was not expecting it. The story nails the rose colored out look, and only having so much love in your heart. 3.1

Rose and Emerald by Catlin Rozakis is a story about the Tin Man first love before he lost his heart. Rose is a girl that was given rose clorored glasses that stay on her head. That is the way she views the world. She found out that the Tin Man did not have an accident but it was a spell. Rose is on a mission to find the Tin Man and see where their love stands. The story had a great beginning.

The story has fun with what happens when someone comes back from Oz and how it changes you in surprising ways. There are a lot of great reveals from characters from Oz hidden in our world. I though the story was decent 3.8